Gladiators
by gogogeisha
Summary: A/U following Elizabeth Windsor and her adventures while she escapes her family and gets loses her way, only to find it again with unlikely assitances. OC and OC pairing, starts at the height of the Reaper Invasion and continues past the events of ME3. Referenced Garrus/FShep pairing.
1. Pre-Story

**The actual story starts in Chapter 2, this is for future references throughout the story and some minor explanation at the end over my thought process and the main storyline of ME that I will have as an assumed reference point. This can be skipped over if you don't want to read it :).  
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**Dissection:**

**The Official Profiles:**

Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor , age 25:

Descendent of the Windsor house of Brittan (i.e. the Royal Family). Since the royal families abdicated any sort of political power roughly in 2103 CE with the permanent Mars settlement formation most families maintained power through political and business ventures – not all legal. Even during Shepard's life the families and major corporations maintained an elite standing over the average human and maintained their own codes of ethics, morals and behaviors. Much of the houses' activities are strictly guarded despite the Windsor house still being highly regarded in the news and having many public relations events to keep public opinion high.

Elizabeth is the only daughter of the late Marcus Mountbatten-Windsor and his wife, Michelle Trachtenbarger. Marcus was the only son of the current matriarch of the Windsor legacy, Dorothy Mountbatten-Windsor. Not much is known of Elizabeth as her life after her parents' deaths was strictly regulated. All that is known is that Elizabeth is a prominent participant in the annual Hunt events, where she has taken Novissime Superstes, or Last Survivor, her last five years of participation. Elizabeth is highly regarded for her skills in assassination, biotics and subterfuge as well as her brute tactics in combat, thus maintaining the Windsor claim to prime business partnerships.

Elizabeth joined the Alliance Navy Marines at age 18 and maintains the rank of Staff Lieutenant as well as an N7 designation. Her entry in to the Alliance was marred with legal dissention from the Windsor family and in a not well publicized trial it was determined that Elizabeth's contract with the Alliance superseded her family's wishes that she be kept out on the basis of Elizabeth being the sole-heir. It was an old tactic, usually used in the Americas in the 20th century to avoid men being drafted into military service. As Elizabeth volunteered her right to join the Alliance was upheld and she maintains her allegiance with the military organization.

Marius Aelius, age 28:

The second son of senator Gaeus Aelius, Marius serves in the Turian 43rd Marine Division, famed for their role in the Ancient Unification War and well-known for their ability to integrate efficiently with militaries of other species. Marius is currently a Lieutenant within the 43rd (Ref: Mass_Effect_ for ranks) and has been with the 43rd since his enlistment at 15.

Marius is known for his abilities in combat as well as his extensive technical knowledge, serving his platoon in the most dire of situations, he has won many accreditations and medals during his career. Marius' professional personality profile focuses on his ability to think quickly and critically under stress and annotates that he has a strong protective instinct for those under his leadership. Marius has been cited numerous times for valor in battle and the ability to subjugate the enemy despite negative circumstance. Despite his accolades, those working with him have commented that he tends to be "hot headed" and questions orders regularly.

Gregory Pfizer II, age 28:

The eldest son of the current CEO of the Pfizer Corporation, Hunt participant, Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor's fiancé, and avid gambler.

Dorothy Mountbatten-Windsor, age 86:

The matriarch of the Windsor line, Dorothy is known for being ruthless in business negotiations yet maintaining her reputation of "a role-model of the people". Not much is known about the relationship between Dorothy and her estranged grand-daughter; but sources close to the matriarch have stated that their relationship has been strained since the death of Dorothy's son and daughter-in-law. Rumors circulated about Dorothy's business practices and how the Windsor house was able to secure some of the best business partnerships in human industry, but no substance has ever been brought forth to supplement the claims of murder, blackmail, and slave trading.

Despite the rumors, the Windsor house generally holds a positive opinion within the public as they funnel funds to local orphanages and social welfare groups.

Gaeus Aelius, age 89:

After serving his mandated military term, Gaeus focused his time and energy in to politics, eventually moving himself up in the Hierarchy ranks to his position on the Council of Primarchs (Ref: Mass_Effect_ ), part of the Hierarchy Executive Branch. His primary focus is on Trade Relations with alien nations. He has three children, his sons Agripus and Marius and his daughter Junio. His wife, Valina and he were able reunite with Primarch Victus after the Reaper Invasion and have assisted him with the political necessities of war-time.

Known for being a traditionalist, Gaeus has traditional views on Turian Culture and has encouraged his children in to politically advantageous marriages; though only his eldest son Agripus is currently married. Gaeus, despite his traditional leanings, speaks well of Primarch Victus and the actions of Commander Jane Shepard.

**The Hunt:**

The Hunt is a widely criticized event held yearly where the children of human elite compete for money and glory. The Hunt is completely voluntary and has a reputation for being simply an excuse for the wealthy families of Earth to murder each other legally. The contestants are required to sign a waiver stating that if they die during the contest then their family cannot seek reparations against the offending contestant. It is also observed to be a staging area for later political and corporate alliances and rivalries as there is no stated rule that opposing contestants must be killed.

The Hunt begins with the contestants being left on an island in the South Pacific region of Earth, separated and equipped with three weapons of choice. They then proceed to attempt to out-survive their rivals for a week. The contestants are not given food nor any form of outside assistance. The contestants are fitted with under-suit like garments that have an array of sensors built in to determine if any injuries are likely. Rival contestants are removed from the Hunt by being dealt a lethal or incapacitating blow. The blow does not have to make contact, but once the suit registers the attack, they are removed from the Hunt via drop-ship. As stated, actually lethal attacks are common and are not dissuaded.

The Hunt has always been highly controversial and is not discussed much in alien politics due to the barbarity of the event. There have been several attempts to shut the hunt down, the most recent being in 2150 CE when renowned scientist Henry Lawson's elder brother was killed when he was biotically thrown from a cliff by Gregory Pfizer Sr.. All attempts to close the hunt down have been met with strong political and legal opposition from many of Humanities corporate elite and therefore all attempts were met with failure.

**Previous and Current Events:**

This story is going to start amidst the Reaper Invasion and will continue pasts the deployment of the Crucible. The above information is simply so that the story can progress better without having to go in to a lot of depth of referenced events or characters. My headcannon is that Jane Shepard and Garrus Vakarian are together, the Reapers are destroyed and Shepard lives, and that the Catalyst lied about the technological bit. Since these events will not be focused on much in the story then I felt that it was necessary to have this all at the beginning so that these are the assumptions throughout the story. The story will also focus on the life of Elizabeth Mountbatten-Windsor and her struggles through life. I am not going to portray the Windsor (or Pfizer, or any other referenced family) as how I see them or feel that they are currently, but how I think abundance of wealth with no real regulation and a lack of morals for a few generations could impact the families. In fact, I just picked Pfizer because it was the first majorly wealthy family I could think of off of the top of my head. I think the Windsor house is interesting because they are the most commonly known "royal" family and it would be interesting to suppose how they would still maintain familial power.

And that's pretty much it! I will be writing the story as I get time, this is going to be a long work in progress, but Chapter 1 will be posted this weekend.


	2. Impressive

The destruction was everywhere, it was hard to imagine the landscape as it once was and it had only been a few months. Commander Shepard was busy trying to save everyone's' asses from the fires of hell while the grunts worked hard to at least keep up the illusion of protecting the cities.

It was hard, much harder than they all were truly prepared for. Sure, there had been briefs and warnings and an abundance of lectures on the theoretical warefare of the Reaper Invasion, but it hadn't prepared them for the total destruction that was bestowed upon them.

_We should have listened to Shepard's warnings._ Elizabeth thought darkly to herself. It was something that was discussed regularly around the warming pits when the soldiers found some measure of reprieve after a hard day, or days, of fighting.

The arrival of the turians had helped boost morale, but little else. So much of the human forces had been wiped out already that it was just adding bodies to the already thinning herd.

Elizabeth climbed over another piece of rubble that seemed to once belong to a bank building. They were 100 clicks south of Paris and it hurt Elizabeth's heart to see so much history in ruins.

She was scouting for her unit, there had been reports of minor reaper activity in the vicinity and a turian platoon had gone quiet a few hours ago so her team was sent out to try and figure out what happened to them.

_The reapers fucking happened to them._ Was Elizabeth's silent gripe as she was sent ahead to scout. As if there had been any real question as to what had happened with the way the reapers decimated any real resistance.

That wasn't to say that she wasn't thankful for the turian's help, but she really just didn't see it helping much in the long run. All of their hopes had settled on one woman who was lightyears away. Here, in the midst of the shit, it was a small glimmer of hope that was quickly being choked of life.

Static came over her radio as she crested the rubble and took in her surroundings.

"… tch… Lieutenant Mountbatten, what's your status?" Commander Harris cracked over the radio, his voice much heavier, more solemn, than it once was.

"No sign of the lost platoon sir, minor activity to the North…" As she was speaking a loud bang rang out through the debris followed quickly by a succession of gun fire.

"Wait, I may have found something. Old shopping district to the North of my position – transmitting the coordinates to you now. I'm going to scout ahead and see if I can be of assistance." She had already started cautiously moving in the direction of the fight.

"Be careful, we can't risk it for you to throw your life away. Observe, but wait for backup, we're five minutes out." He said quickly, almost exasperatedly – he knew she would throw herself in to the fight without a second thought.

"Rodger."

Elizabeth activated her modded cloak and slipped unseen through the rubble, slowly entering the building and making her way up the floors to the level of the commotion.

She suspected one of the walls on the opposite side of the building was out, otherwise she wouldn't have heard the gunshots clearly. She steeled herself on the other side of the door before slowly opening and moving in to the room.

It had once been an office… or maybe an apartment, she really couldn't tell other than that the room was large and had a lot of furniture strewn everywhere. A wall was out and her missing platoon seemed to be guarding it.

She chanced moving out of cover to see and noticed some turians stuck under the offending wall.

_Shit, they're pinned._ Husks were quickly converging on them from a missing portion of the building. It must have created a perfect ramp because they didn't seem to be struggling at all to encroach on her newly found prize.

_Shit, shit, SHIT!_ The waves of husks seemed endless and she witnessed as the turians were quickly becoming overwhelmed under the direct assault. Only one of their wall-pinned companions seemed to be alive and lucid and they were splitting their attentions from the husks to trying to lift the wall up to free him.

She added her own pistol shots into the horde effectively drawing attention off of them long enough for their shields to regenerate properly. She was about to stylishly introduce herself when the red tracking lasers of the reaperfied rachni cut through the dust filled air.

She hardly let her breath out before she was charging in front of the turian team to throw up a biotic barrier.

She wasn't fast enough and at least one of the defending turians was taken out by the rocket-like blast. She was able to save the remaining three – including the one trapped. She held the barrier for as long as she could all the while barking orders to the two standing, dumbfounded and relieved turians.

"Get that wall off of him now, I can't hold this forever!" She was already gritting her teeth, it had been a while since she was the only biotic in the fight – too long.

The two free-moving turians wasted no time in snapping to the order and managed to work the wall off of their teammate… In perfect time as her barrier flickered in to nothing. She took a deep breath as she brought her pistol back up and started shooting the single rachni as many times as she could.

Despite the lack of radio chatter, she knew her team would be there shortly, they just needed to hold out a little longer. Even one surviving would be a victory at this point, but she wanted all three to survive.

A second weapon joined in the chorus, then a third, as the turians were able to help kill the offending creature. Elizabeth spared a quick glance despite herself at her cohorts and was surprised to see that the injured turian was one of the two firing. He was holding his weapon steady as the still-kneeled turian beside him worked on his torso and leg wounds.

Finally, the rachni fell and with relief Elizabeth noticed that no other enemies seemed forthcoming. She lowered her weapon as the rachni fell and the last of its "babies" dissolved in to a poisonous splatter. With a deep sigh she trotted quickly over to the hole in the wall and scanned the surroundings to see if they were in the clear or if she needed to try and scrounge up some clips.

Seeing nothing immediately alarming, she holstered her weapon and sauntered back to the turian team.

_Another day in paradise_, she thought to herself as she looked over the carnage. At least one other turian had been under the wall and by her guess, he didn't make it. There were two other bodies on either side of the fallen wall that fell during the scuffle.

"Lieutenant Mountbatten of the 103rd, can he be moved? We don't have a lot of time. Extraction should be here soon." She didn't want to sound rude, but she was severely uncomfortable about their position and she couldn't keep her nerves out of her voice.

To his credit, the standing turian simply nodded. "Lieutenant Commander Vartas, 43rd Marines. Lieutenant Aelius will be ready to move in a few moments, right Serviceman Braecus?" Both marines nodded and got back to medigel applications and suit calibrations.

Elizabeth took a moment to really look them over as she sent updated coordinates to her team and noted the varied features of each man before her. The Lieutenant Commander had green colony markings that her more blockish than flowing, and stark gray eyes. At first glance she though his eyes were white, but she wondered if that wasn't just a trick of the lighting.

The turian helping the injured Lieutenant, Braecus, had subtle black colony markings that seemed almost non-existent, just a dash on each mandible and a line down his middle crest. The Lieutenant had the most colony markings, in a brilliant red that reminded her of human blood. His green eyes were dulled with pain, but she could see that he was trying to fight through it.

"Impressive." She muttered under her breath, so silently that she was sure that she would be the only one to hear herself. She was proven wrong as the Lieutenant turned to look at her a bit and parted his mandible in a weak smile.

She quickly busied herself with trying to contact her team, she didn't need to come off any more flippant than she already was and she cursed herself for her lack of emotional control. If she was honest, she was exhausted and her mental filter was slipping.

"Punch drunk from exhaustion" was how her commander described her as she started to slip from lack of sleep. All giggles and inappropriate innuendo. Luckily, she was a Marine, and the innuendo was an assumed part of the job. Act tough and all that.

Finally she heard the crack of radio communications followed by the subtle steps of someone on the stairs.

"Coming in now Mountbatten, room clear? Any casualties or injuries." Harris questioned carefully, trying to keep his voice even and hushed.

"Two casualties, three survivors – one is injured and will require assistance. Zone is clear for now, but I've got a bad feeling, treat as hot."

She was notorious for her "feelings" about a situation and was usually never wrong. It happened, but it was rare. She had learned through her experience in the Hunt that when it feels like a bad time, it probably was.

A few minutes later Harris and his team of two others – Chiefs Johnson and Tracht, quickly entered the room from the same staircase she used and moved over to the Lieutenant Commander. The two introduced themselves and got down to basics. The what happened's and status reports, as well as a basic plan on how to get the fuck out.

Elizabeth kept her eye on the hole and reloaded her pistol while she kept a loose eye on the hole, they were trying to determine if a quick down grade would be easier for Aelius rather than the stairs. Elizabeth also stole glances at Aelius trying to see how quickly he would indeed be ready to move… It was slow progress and she wasn't liking it.

The sinking pit in her gut churned when the shrill screetch of a banshee announced that her feeling was, indeed, correct. Everyone paused for a moment and then a rushed scuffle as they lifted the not-quite-ready Lieutenant briskly and started to make for the stairs.

She trailed behind keeping up the rear – it was her place, watching their asses. She wasn't a heavy hitter, but she could get enough small hits in to make a sizeable attack… That and she was the only one really not weighed down with injured turian.

They made it down the stairs without much hassle, but as they got to the waiting mako. The banshee would cause issues for them if they didn't hurry and get everyone on board – which would be difficult with the large injured person. Hell, the mako would be tight with the added bodies and they risked further injury if they hurried too much.

Injury or death was starting to seem like the likely standoff. The banshee didn't make herself known again and Elizabeth wondered if they had managed to lose her. Banshees were slow moving until they got a target and generally weren't the most adamant snoopers for prey. They seemed to linger until they noticed something and then sprung in to action.

They were nearing the end of the hall that lead to the debris valley where the mako was parked when the tell-tail blue glow of biotics sparked across the opening.

"Shit, Harris, she's between us and the truck." Elizabeth griped under her breath. She was already forming her plan of attack to get everyone else out. This wasn't the worst position they had found themselves – at least it wasn't a brute – but she was still in for a hard fight. She wished her heavy, Grajalva, had come along. Johnson and Tracht weren't bad in a fight, but some heavy firepower would make her job easier.

She steeled her shoulders, they didn't call her the extractor for nothing, she would get her team out with minimal casualties.

Harris noticed her steeling herself for the upcoming scuffle. "Don't let her get close, we only need a few minutes, I've got a hand cannon on the mako and will get her off of you as soon as possible. He hated to send her out there, but she had proven time and time again that she could handle it.

Elizabeth nodded and strode past the turians, popping her knuckles and her neck as she got ready to dance. They stared after her, mandibles agape as she stepped in to the light. She briefly heard "One human against _that?_" from one of the turians and she smirked.

One human nothing, she was a trained killer, she was given the best trainers money could buy… It just happened that translated well to killing reapers. She was the distraction while the others brought the heavy firepower.

The banshee screamed, announcing her intent and despite herself, Elizabeth screamed right back. The banshee started to shudder alerting to Elizabeth that she was going to strike, it was the same every time. Elizabeth counted the seconds and as the banshee shot forward to find Elizabeth not there. She had twisted and stepped to the side, moving around the banshee and bringing her pistol up at the same time.

She started to unload her clip into the former asari as she walked backwards, luring the banshee away from the path to the truck. With a quick signal from her, her team and the turians moved to the truck and started the less-than-gentle task of loading up their injured companion – in to the front seat, which was probably best if not a little tricky.

_Only a few more minutes, come on guys._ She danced away from a swipe, her clip signaling the end of her ammo. She grabbed her sniper rifle, but was too close for an effective shot. She tried to work a bit of distance in between her and the creature in order to get a good, destructive shot, but the creature wasn't letting up.

With a grunt of annoyance, she dodged another swipe and pulled her knives from their sheaths. This was going to be one of those fights.

She always felt more graceful with her curved machete-like weapons, there was something poetic in battle where you were cutting a person down both figuratively and actually.

She did another graceful dodge, her leg moving opposite of her to keep her balance as she flipped away trailing the knives in her wake to cut at the banshee's midsection.

The resounding shriek alerted her to her success, but she knew she wouldn't get many other cheap shots. She risked another glance at her team and noted that they seemed to be getting situated more quickly.

_Soon._ She allowed herself to relax a bit too much, the exhaustion of day upon day of movement and fighting caught up with her.

She paid for it, swiftly and painfully as the banshee got her own cheap shot against Elizabeth's back. She couldn't choke back the yowl of pain that tore itself out of her throat.

The extraction team stalled and Harris barked an order no longer concerned with preventing more injuries and focused simply on getting the hell out and back to the operating base. He and Johnson unceremoniously shoved Tracht into the vehicle and in to the lap of the turian Lieutenant Commander as he reached into the bowels of the vehicle to get his big gun.

Aelius watched the small woman danced with the banshee and he found his subharmonics keening in both her success and failure. He physically cringed at the wound rendered on her back. He didn't know why he was fascinated, or concerned, with her wellbeing other than that she was another soldier – one who had facilitated his rescue and subsequent escape… But, he also could have sworn she called him impressive and that got his attention.

She was well trained, but obviously exhausted which was a dangerous combination. He was overly concerned for her and the current situation was causing him to tense and causing further injury and pain, but he couldn't force himself to calm down.

Elizabeth spun around, blood splattering after her and marring the banshee and debris. She had been wounded worse, she reminded herself as she calmed her breath and rushed the banshee with a cry of anger. She added a bit of a biotic thrust in with the rush and mimicked a move a vanguard had once shown her.

The banshee stumbled back and Elizabeth gored her midsection with her blade, it wouldn't be fatal for the creature, but it would do enough damage if someone else would only start shooting the damned thing.

Just as the thought surfaced, Harris called out "Eli, CLEAR!". She wasted no time sprinting at full speed away from the creature as Harris pulled the trigger on his hand cannon. The rocket zipped by her head and collided with its intended target.

One rocket was not enough and Harris quickly reloaded and shot off the second. Between the two rockets and Elizabeth's whittling down of the banshee's defenses, the second rocket's impact had the creature releasing its death call.

Harris spared no additional time and clambered in to the driver's seat as Elizabeth threw herself on to the floor of the rear seating area. The door was closed behind her and they were moving before she had time to settle from the impact.

She didn't want to move, her back was screaming and her head had started pounding. She felt Tracht or Johnson working on her wounds and she let out a resigned sigh. She hated the medical tent and that's exactly where she was going.

She felt herself losing grip on consciousness, but it didn't worry her as much as it should. She was in good hands, she was safe, they were all safe, so she had no reason to stay awake.

The last thing she remembered was a flanged "Impressive" being muttered under someone's breath.


End file.
